Even with the release of the DNI report, stating that Russia launched an influence campaign, with a clear preference for Donald Trump, the president can’t bring himself to lay all the blame on Moscow.

That’s the problem a lot of Trump’s defenders seem to be having: They’re unwilling (or unable) to distinguish hacking from influence.

To be clear, hacking would involve a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo that I’m not going to try to explain, because I can’t. I count it a win that I’ve figured out how to cut my computer on. Let’s leave it at that.

What I can say is that “hacking” is what was done that allowed for the release of Democratic National Committee emails, through WikiLeaks.

The actual release of them was the effort that constitutes an attempt to influence.

So why would Russia be so interested in our election, and so favorable to Trump?

Because even as awful as Hillary Clinton is, she’s at least experienced and has some working knowledge of government.

Trump, on the other hand, was a B-list celebrity, at best, doing a reality show and occasional guest spots, known more for his ridiculous, trademark hair than anything involving any intellectual heft.

As former President Jimmy Carter said about Trump during the primaries, he was “malleable.” Trump has no idea what he’s doing in office, and for President Putin, the former KGB agent, it will be like a wolf approaching a newborn chick.

As I’ve repeatedly reminded folks, Russia is not our friend, so if they preferred Trump, it was because that was to their advantage.

At a press conference this morning with Poland’s President Duda, Trump continued his attacks on the media, bragged about the money he made for NBC (Why??), and absolutely deflected on a question about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

Yes, Russia interfered, but only three agencies said so. There are probably other countries involved (He didn’t name any), and why didn’t Obama do anything about it, since he knew in August?

The correct answer would be for Trump to say, “All signs point to Russian interference, and that is troubling.”

Simple and to the point. It doesn’t throw our intelligence agencies under the bus and it avoids creating an uncomfortable situation for when Trump meets with Putin on Friday.